This report from the Carrick Beach and Rockers SAC:
Firstly I would like to thank P&O Ferries for their continued support and generous sponsorship of the main prize in this annual event. I would also like to thank Johnny of the Mariner Bar Waterfoot for letting us use their facilities; Stuart and Richard of the Bait and Tackle Hut Carrickfergus for their continued support and sponsorship; Josie McLaughlin for his sponsorship of a prize; and James Raymond, who donated a very generous prize of a day’s guided fishing around the Tralee area. Lastly, I would like to thank all those who attended and made this competition a great success for another year, and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.
This year’s competition has seen a bit of a change-up with the scoring system. Adopting a points/cm style approach. This system rewards quantity with fish points and quality through extra score points and keeps the match competitive all along the beach regardless of whether you have the numbers of fish in front of you or if you have several decent fish and nothing much else.
Showing up at the venue yesterday morning, it wasn’t looking good, with huge piles of weed sitting just above the tide line and visible weed turning over along the waterline. Luckily, as the tide started to drop before the competition, a lot of the weed was deposited along the sand and after the 1st hour of fishing, most of the weed was left high and dry and the fishing wasn’t too uncomfortable.
Fishing got off to a slow start on the top pegs with very few flatfish about during the daylight, but the light was dropping fast, and the casts began going longer as anglers started hammering the whiting hoards when they got on the feed. Young club member Layton Finlay was steadily plucking out fish after fish, having seemingly found the sweet spot. This resulted in fish on almost every cast or every other cast, finishing up with 22ish and a hefty scorecard for a junior. Karl on the end peg was steadily lifting a few after finding them at distance and managing to find the dogfish for the big points in the new scoring system.
Some of the fish landed
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Reports along the beach were a little sketchy, as it’s hard to tell how anyone else is doing purely by fish numbers, which keeps things interesting. Just past the halfway point, Karl thought he was doing well with 9 fish, including a few of the high-scoring dogfish. Reports filtered through that Paul Beggs was on the fish and was currently sitting with 17 fish on the middle of the beach, with Sammy Stirling also hitting good numbers. Jonny Gilbert was in the thick of the fish on the middle pegs also and was matching the guys around him for fish count when he decided to gamble and start thumping it out for dogs; unfortunately, they just weren’t there around the middle pegs, and Jonny lost valuable time as the anglers around him kept plugging away at the whiting, with Dodgy also dropping a bass at his feet in the breaking waves.
Greame Ruddy, on the higher 1/3 of the beach, noticed a few others had found the odd dog here and there around him but decided to stay on the constant stream of smaller fish which were thick on the ground in front of him; in hindsight, this proved to have possibly cost him a better result than the 5th position in which he finished. Over 30 fish, but too many with minimal points to put a dent on the podium finish.
Final results were tallied up, and Paul Beggs took overall 1st place with an impressive card of 44 fish and taking the cash prize and the P&O crossing along with a cash prize.
The Killybegs Mariners’ daylight league outing took place on Saturday at one of their favourite locations along the Donegal coast—the beautiful Silver Strand at Malin Beg.
The drive along the road at Malin Beg was spectacular, as the wild Atlantic was crashing into the sky as it collided with the reef-strewn shore in the sound of Rathlin O’Birne.
The strand is surrounded by towering cliffs on three sides, and, on the day, there was a big surf crashing onto the shore. Fishing took place from 11am to 3pm, and the first casts had fish for a few anglers. Getting on the scoreboard early were Pat, Cara and Shane with turbots and flounders up to 27 cm, but as the tide turned, the fish switched off and things got quiet.
A late double haul of a turbot and a decent flounder of 30 cm was enough to nudge the new league leader, Darren Rawdon, into first place to take the win on the day with 102 pts, winning €54.
In 2nd place with a weaver and a last-cast turbot for 60 points was Pat Cunningham, winning €27.
And longest flattie outside the top 2 was won by Cara Boyle with a 27 cm flounder for €27.
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Well done to all; it was an enjoyable location for a quiet day’s fishing. The next league outing is scheduled for next Friday at Rossnowlagh south side.
The 4th round of the Ger Hennesy Winter league was fished on Sunday at Oaklands.
Miserable weather all day for the boy’s & lady fair play too them for sticking it out.
Top senior on the day was John Browne with 22.500 kg for Feeder caught carp.
Top Junior and 2nd on the day was Finn McCarthy with 12.690kg. That’s two wins in a row for Finn and his 3rd top 3 finish.
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Finn McCarthy
John Browne
Today’s Results
Seniors
1st John Browne 22.500 kg
2nd Kirean Reeves 9.710 kg
3rd Gavin Roe 8.260 kg
Juniors
1st Finn Mccarthy 12.960 kg
2nd Flynn Caufield 6.540 kg
3rd Ruairi Manley Murphy 5.670 kg
Thanks very much to all that turned out, next match December 21st.
A very popular carp fishery. Popular with competition anglers and novices alike. Alway a great chance of a bumper bag here. Friendly staff more than happy to advise beginner anglers. Caters to all sorts of clubs and groups.
The Limerick County Pike Anglers held their last competition of the year last Sunday. The pike certainly had an appetite on the day, and plenty of fish were landed. Tommy Williams took the top spot with a 51lb+ bag, and Barry O’Donnell came second with a bag of 39lb+. Best fish of the day went to Robert Barrett with a pike of 9lb 4oz.
The final leg of this year’s Munster Shore League is scheduled to be held this weekend at Youghal Beach. But with the weather looking a bit dicey, the organisers are keeping a close eye on developments. They do have a Plan B, a switch of venue to the Slob Bank, and will make a final call on it by Thursday night.
All entries must be confirmed by 12 noon, this Friday.
Prize Giving:
After the match, presentations for the 2025 Munster Shore League will take place in The Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal.
Accommodation Offers:
1 Night B&B – €140.00 (based on 2 people sharing)
1 Night Dinner, B&B – €190.00 (based on 2 people sharing)
To avail of these rates, please book directly with the Walter Raleigh Hotel and mention the Munster Shore League.
We’re looking forward to a great turnout to finish the league in style – best of luck to all anglers taking part!
Last weekend, the Ulster Krakens fished their final match of the year, a fixture carrying significant weight with several league positions still to be decided. Raymond and Ally entered the event tied at the top of the league, while the Masters Angler title remained a three-way battle between David, Stephen Kinning and Andy.
The match was fished over the ebb and the rising tide on a beach that, although historically productive, has been heavily reshaped by storms over the past year. Lines hit the water at 5pm, and early catches came quickly along the shoreline, with Conor and David getting off to strong starts.
By around 8pm the fishing slowed dramatically for most competitors, with only Marc and Conor maintaining steady returns. Then Fra cast out and hooked into a superb 43cm bass almost instantly, claiming the biggest fish of the night.
Lines were lifted at 10pm, and anglers returned to the car park to learn the final standings.
Results: 1st: Conor Webster – 18 fish + 2 undersized, 411 points 2nd: Marc Wilson – 17 fish + 2 undersized, 405 points 3rd: Raymond McCann – 18 fish + 4 undersized, 399 points 4th: David Rainey – 14 fish, 313 points 5th: Fra Mahoney – 11 fish, 276 points
Species caught: bass, flounder, dab, pouting, whiting, cod and rockling. Biggest fish: Fra Mahoney – 43cm bass.
Raymond McCann was congratulated on retaining the overall trophy for the third consecutive year. Ally was praised for pushing him to the very end, missing out by just a single point. Conor received recognition for winning his first club match—an especially impressive achievement in his first year of match fishing. Special credit was also given to Craig, who, despite major health challenges and a partial foot amputation last year, fished every match this season and secured an admirable third place overall.
Season Awards:
Overall Winner: Raymond McCann Ladies Master Angler: Pamela Stewart Most Species: Stephen Kinning Biggest Round Fish: Pamela Stewart Biggest Flat Fish: David / Gavin Mahaffy
The VDE Baggers were back on the River Erne over the weekend for the 5th round of their Winter League competition. They used some strategic pegging to avoid dead areas and managed to get all their anglers on fish.
Unfortunately, the marina at Bellenaleck didn’t fish quite as well as it had during recent matches, but anglers still managed to post decent weights, none better than Peter Jones, who used his 8m pole to good effect, bagging a fine weight of 8.44kg. Rodney Topping came in second, just 90 ahead of Paul Hutchman in third.
Padraig English, of Lough Pike and Trout, plans to get more pike fishing in this winter and hopes to get more content up on his YouTube channel. Padraig has some nice instructional videos up on the channel already, but now he’s on a mission to get a monster for his subscribers before the pike season is out.
In this episode, Padraig and his partner for the day, Morgan, fish deadbaits into deeper water in the hope that that is where the big pike are holding up. Padraig doesn’t bag the biggest pike he’s ever caught, but he does manage a couple of nice pike on a cool, calm day somewhere in Meath.
he past week in Ireland brought a mix of blustery winds, passing showers, and brief calmer spells, giving coarse and pike anglers plenty of changing conditions to work with. Cooler temperatures and shifting pressure made freshwater fishing a bit unpredictable, though pike showed decent activity during short pressure lifts. Sea anglers were also impacted by the unsettled weather, with shore fishing often hindered by strong tides and weedy conditions.
Starting with pike fishing, Guided Predator Angling, based in Enniskillen, reported good results over the past few days, with several clients landing quality fish despite challenging conditions. Meanwhile, Bodo Funke of Angling Services Ireland sent an update on the late-autumn pike fishing in the Boyle area, where longtime client Michael from Germany enjoyed an excellent three-day trip, catching several good pike – including a fine Esox lucius measuring 107 cm, which earns our Catch of the Week.
Over to coarse angling, where several competitions took place over the past week – often in cold, testing conditions. Munster Coarse Anglers braved biting winds and flooded fields to fish the fourth round of their winter series on the Lower Shannon. Enfield Coarse Anglers also endured a tough day during the fifth and final round of the Royal Enfield Winter League, held last Sunday in freezing conditions along the Royal Canal. Cavan CAC faced similarly challenging weather during their fourth league match of 2025/26 on a Leitrim lake last weekend. So all in all, it was a demanding week for coarse anglers across the board.
Roach on the float
In his latest River Whispers piece, Dan O’Neill of Trout Fishing Ireland also touches on coarse angling. With rivers now in flood and visibility low, Dan has turned to canal fishing, focusing on quiet margin tactics, light floats, and natural baits such as worms. This week, however, he guided Russ, an experienced saltwater fly angler from the US, at Southern County Fishing Resort, where they enjoyed excellent rainbow trout sport using sink-tip lines.
Finally, we would like to draw your attention to a brand-new book on sea trout by retired fishery scientist and angler Dr. Paddy Gargan. At 368 pages, The Connemara Sea-Trout Fisheries offers a comprehensive and engaging history of these iconic fisheries, richly illustrated with atmospheric photographs, detailed maps, and informative diagrams.
Other news
Salmon Regulations 2026
The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment has opened a public consultation on the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2025 and Conservation Measures for 2026. Details of the proposed regulations and information on how to make a submission are available here: Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Regs and Conservation Measures for the 2026 Season announced. The closing date for submissions is 5.30pm on 20 December 2025.
And now the weather
The coming days will be changeable, with a mix of rain, showers, and occasional dry spells. Temperatures will turn milder, ranging from 5–13 °C. Friday night and Saturday will see scattered showers, easing into sunnier spells by Saturday afternoon, though winds will be fresh to strong at times. Rain spreads again Saturday night into Sunday, clearing northeastwards by midday for a drier, sunnier afternoon. Monday starts mostly dry with some sun before cloud and rain move in later. Overall, unsettled conditions with blustery winds and further rain are expected through the week.
Don’t forget to double-check the forecast before heading off, and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.
Every year around this time we share a few Christmas gift ideas – for those looking for a little stocking filler for the angler in their life. Well if the angler in your life enjoys flyfishing for salmon, sea trout or brown trout, they might love this brand new book by retired fishery scientist and angler Dr. Paddy Gargan. ‘The Connemara Sea Trout Fisheries‘ was launched this week at Lough Inagh Lodge, and has been warmly received.
At 368 pages, this is a work of enormous hard work and meticulous research. A comprehensive and entertaining history of the Connemara sea-trout fisheries, beautifully illustrated with atmospheric photographs, detailed maps and diagrams. In Part One there are instructive introductions to the fisheries where sea-trout can be found to this day and in-depth histories of the loughs, rivers and characters that make up those renowned fisheries. Part Two of the book describes recommended flies for sea-trout in the Connemara fisheries, and insights into which flies fish best on individual waters and in various weather conditions; an introduction to the biology of sea-trout, and the impact of sea-lice from commercial fish farming; and a list of the largest sea-trout caught in Connemara.
I received a signed copy from the author and having had a quick flick through, I can say it is a wonderfully illustrated book, with beautiful photos by Jaques Piraprez (and many others) and wonderful maps by Padraig Costello and Bryan Kennedy, as well as expertly-tied flies by Declan Tuffy and photographed by Peter Gathercole. I cannot wait to get a couple of hours away from the kids and sit down to enjoy it more thoroughly.
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Where To Buy
The Connemara Sea Trout Fisheries is published by Coch-y-Bonddu Books, and available from their website here, or on Amazon here. The first print run is just 500 copies, so get yours now before they’re gone! I believe there may also be a few copies available from Freeneys tackle shop in Shop Street, Galway. (Freeneys is also one of Galway’s best pubs with a large whiskey selection, and I can’t think of anywhere better to sit and enjoy a read of this great book with a nice dram).
